When she receives the news in late 1944 that her baby’s father was shot down in the South Pacific, Amelia Richards loses hope. Jobless and broke, she has nowhere to turn for help but her infant’s paternal grandparents. The only problem is, they don’t know that she–or their grandson–exists. When Amelia discovers that the family is wealthy and influential, dare she disclose the truth of her … relationship with their son? Or could the celebration of the arrival of another unexpected baby nearly two thousand years ago be the answer to her dilemma?
Beloved author Melody Carlson pens a story of love, hardship, and reconciliation that will leave readers filled with Christmas joy.
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So, I have a confession: I…don’t really care for Christmas books. *hides* I’d rather read other books, honestly, and I don’t think I could give you a reason. Maybe because Christmas is so overplayed that the simplicity and beauty of the season is lost.
And while some books try to capture that…I don’t know. I think they try too hard to be beautiful sometimes. (Really, I think the only Christmas book I’ve rated 5 stars is Bespoke, and I reviewed that one last year already, soooo yay) So, even though the cover is gorgeous, The Christmas Blessing was a bit of a letdown.
It didn’t really hook me. And I tried to figure out why during the whole book, and finally, after I closed the book at the end, it hit me: the plot is so good and really could’ve been done amazingly…but there was no character development. Word to the wise: no matter how good your plot is, if there’s no character development, you’re just hurting yourself.
Amelia is determined to do what she has to for the sake of her baby boy. A mother’s love right there, y’all. So promising. But…literally everything that happened just…happened. Poor Amelia had to quit her job and move. She gets sick. She has to make a huge decision but it was kind of obvious the choice that she’d make.
The good doctor was a kind, sweet man. Caring. Yay, more fluff.
His wife was annoying after the death of her son but suddenly this child is making her tenderhearted again. Which, I know, is totally realistic. And if any of the characters had any development at all, it was her. But she was still annoying.
The message was…nonexistent? Hm…I read the book about a week ago, and there at least wasn’t any message that I remember, sooo it obviously wasn’t prevalent enough for me to pick up on it very well.
The ending was super cute and heartwarming. A cute story wrapped up in a nice lil’ bow. So. If you’re a fan of cute Christmas stories with fluffy to give you all the cozy feels, this one’s for you. *grins*
The Christmas Blessing is a sweet Christmas novella. Set during WWII, Amelia lost her fiancé to the war. Now, an unwed mother with no money or job, she turns to her fiancé’s parents for help. But how will they react when they find out their perfect son had a fiancé and a child out of wedlock?
The Christmas Blessings is a heartwarming Christmas story. I liked the characters and felt so sad for the dire straits and difficult choices they had to make. In that time, people didn’t look kindly on unwed mothers, and for the father to die before he was able to marry his fiancé, even before knowing about his son, leaving her penniless and without a widow’s pension, was so sad to read about. I wonder how many real women were faced with those circumstances. The ending of this story, though, was perfect and beautiful. I loved it.
I recommend this to fans of sweet Christmas stories.
I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own, and I am not obligated to provide a positive review.
Cut book with heartwarming characters and an engaging storyline that geared me up for Christmas!
Despite having several of Carlson’s novellas on Kindle, I’ve only read two others so far. This is definitely one of the better ones, in my opinion. Sometimes her book summaries remind me of a Hallmark movie story line, only not quite as cheesy as those can be. I’m not a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies, so I’m always a bit hesitant to pick up one of novellas because of that reminder, but this one was a pleasant surprise.
The Christmas Blessing turned out to be sweet without being cheesy. While there were times I wished for a bit more depth to the main character, Amelia, I empathized with her plight and her situation feels realistic, especially given the time period of the story. She’s also incredibly brave to leave all that is familiar to her to find her intended’s family, then toward the end, displays extreme sacrifice despite the toll it takes on her heart.
I spread out the reading of this over a few days but it would be a good one to pick up to read straight through in a day or an evening, as it’s so nice and luxurious to do sometimes.
I read this book in one evening. It was a very emotional (yes I cried) story and pulled at this Momma’s heart.
I have read several of Melody Carlson books and I do believe this one is my favorite!
I received a copy from Revell via Netgalley. Thank you Revell! All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.
The Christmas Blessing is a really good book. It had me emotional throughout the book. This shows the sad and the happy. It deals with a young woman with her son. The young woman thinks here soon to be husband has died and so do his parents.
Will the Bentley accept Amelia and her son? Amelia does something to help her son Jimmy? She cares about her son. Amelia sees Jimmy family putting together a Nativity the day after Thanksgiving. She worries about her son and that he is sick. She does something and the family finds him.
We meet James Bentley and what happened to him for sure. There a sweet ending and I do not want to give it away. Carlson does a good job writing the plot and it was done nicely. There some sweet moments and some teary moments.
It a great Christmas story and it is sweet. I loved it.
I enjoyed this and it had some interesting twists. I was happy with the unexpected ending.
Not my favorite Melody Carlson novel. Too “happily ever after”
Wasn’t as long as I usually read, but well written for a short story. Made me wish it had more depth of story and character.
The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson is an easy to read, quick book to enjoy. A good lesson is taught without being “teachy” or “preachy”. Highly recommend.
Nice story. Full of the spirit of the season.
An enticing read. Hard to put down.
I absolutely loved Amelia! She is a very sweet woman who is carrying a huge burden of heartache. She is beautifully presented and so well developed that many times I wished I could just wrap my arms around her and help to shoulder the load of pain she had.
The development of the story is fantastic. This isn’t the light-hearted story that I was expecting based on the earlier Christmas books I’ve read by this author. It is filled with deep emotion.
I received a free eBook copy from the publisher, through NetGalley. I have chosen to write this review to express my personal opinion.
Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion – which I’ve done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*
The Christmas Blessing is the latest story by Christian author Melody Carlson. It is November 1944 in San Diego, California. Amelia Richards and her baby, Jimmy has decided to pack up and move to Rockford, Montana to be near Jimmy’s paternal grandparents. James Bradley is the father of little James and he passed away a month after he was shipped out. James and Amelia were going to marry on the first leave that he received, but his plane was shot down before that could occur. Amelia is spending the last of her funds to get her to Montana in the hopes of a better life for Jimmy and herself (a family). The only hitch in Amelia’s plans is Mr. & Mrs. Bradley are unaware of Amelia and Jimmy. Amelia is not sure how they will be received. Will they be welcomed or turned away? Christmas is the season for miracles. Will Amelia’s dreams come true this Christmas?
The Christmas Blessing is a lovely story. I found it to be well-written and to have a good pace (once you get into it—it starts off slowly). It is a short shorty containing under 200 pages (can be finished in just a couple of hours). It contains good messages (forgiveness, trust, power of prayer, faith) and has a heartwarming ending. My rating for The Christmas Blessing is 4 out of 5 stars. I did feel that the characters are not fully developed (fleshed out), the ending is slightly rushed, and the story is predictable (unoriginal). I missed the humor that is present in Melody Carlson’s other Christmas stories (Christmas at Harrington’s and The Christmas Joy Ride). The Christmas Blessing is a charming novella that will appeal to readers who enjoy happily-ever-after romance stories.
I love everything Melody Carlson writes.
I really enjoyed this story. It had some romance, some plot and a very happy ending